February 22, 2025 -- Philippians 2:9-11 -- The Name above every other name

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11 ESV
 
The Christian who knows the Bible rejoices at the Name of Jesus. He is the rescue story of all who see their depraved sins and hate them. The Spirit, having convicted you of your sins then shows you the glory of Jesus. He rescued you from the wrath of God against your sin and delivers you cleansed and reconciled to God. This is the most glorious, most wondrous story. Christians love the Name of Jesus. He is their hero. He is the Captain of Salvation.
 
The world is not basically good. People are not basically good. What evidence do I have of this? The Name that is precious above every other name is constantly defamed and blasphemed in our world. Those who imbibe movies are taught to curse Jesus. Schools and workplaces where people are supposed to be taught to be professional, instead receive indoctrination leading to intentionally using the precious Name of Jesus as a curse word.
 
God has highly exalted the Name of Jesus. You who use His Name as a curse, beware, there will be a day of Judgment. When you die, or at Jesus’s return, when you see His majesty and glory on full display, you will fall to your knees and know the horrible depths of your sin.
 
God has highly exalted the Name of Jesus. You who claim to honour His Name but live for yourself and falsely wield the precious Name of Jesus as a club against others be warned. You will find your pride will result in your downfall as bear the curse of God.
 
God has highly exalted the Name of Jesus. Those who curse Him now will be cursed for all eternity in the depths of hell. Having taken what is most precious in the universe and attempted to defile it, you yourself will receive every defilement back upon yourself.
 
God has highly exalted the Name of Jesus. Even demons and Satan himself, all which have since their fall from heaven colluded together to get people to join them in their hatred of God and of His Christ, will be cast into hell and there is no exit or relief. Sinners and the demonic will be in endless horror together.
 
Be assured that now, if you are gradually becoming aware of what you’ve done, it is the work of the Holy Spirit changing you. Confess your sin against the Name of Jesus. Turn from such godless behavior. Cleanse your mind and your mouth so that both publicly and privately you will esteem Jesus as precious and worthy of all praise. Know Him Who is worthy of all obeisance and confess Him as your Savior and Lord.
 
Father in heaven, You created my mind and my mouth to declare Your glory. But both have, for so long, spewed corruption and filth. Spirit of God, the standard of Jesus and all His excellencies are so high above my experience and my comprehension. I confess I turn to lower matters, worldly matters, worthless things. Spirit of Splendor, as You make real to me the dire warning of this passage assist me to turn from my sin, hourly and daily hating it ever more completely, and replace this all. Into the vacuum where once the profaning of Jesus’s Name was the norm, create in me a voracious appetite for Jesus. Let that ravenous hunger for Him be filled by the Word, in prayer, and in self-sacrificing service so that as I pour out my life for Him, I find I am even more filled with the knowledge of Jesus. Add to this wisdom so that I will live, walk, and talk in loving obedience to Jesus. This is the fruit of righteousness that comes from living in deep fellowship with Him, Whom I once cursed, but now know and knowing Him increasingly marvel at His extravagant love and self-sacrifice. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/lWxI6HRcEz0?si=jVbE00XUdmfHXQMX Truth Be Told
 

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Feb 20/25 -- Proverbs 17:17 -- by the Spirit's power kept for Jesus

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 ESV
 
There are a few lessons I have learned as a prison-visiting pastor who also meets with men, former inmates, who are in addiction treatment centres. These are lessons I wish the fellowship of believers had taught me in church but are not what I’ve either modeled or experienced in churches.
 
A friend loves at all times. At the Christ-based addiction treatment centres where I teach, it is common for those who are treated for their addictions to slip back into addiction. Early on I expected such men and women to be shamed. Rejected. Refused treatment again. They are not. Those who treat their addictions know the power of sin and the lure of the devil’s lies. They are patient and prepared to receive back those who seek help. To my grief, I have participated in churches where there is a unwritten policy of one-strike, you’re out. No matter the remorse or pleas, depending on the sin, the church does not receive back those who formerly were friends.
 
A friend loves at all times. At the prisons where I teach, there is a definite hierarchy of sin. There are certain crimes that if exposed in the prison setting, will subject a man to beatings and violence. There are certain persons, that if they find themselves in prison, will be subjected to all kinds of harm, think of folks like lawyers, or former prison guards. At the chapel the word sanctuary has taken on some of the strength of its original meaning. It is a place of refuge where believers, who know much about one another, sometimes even the worst about one another, in obedience to Christ and commitment to His word, meet with one another, pray for one another and study together. Sins though known, are acknowledged as something that each person there must bring to Jesus. Without Him there is no relief.
 
Consider the words of Jesus: No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you (John 15:15). Jesus Himself, fully aware of the sinful state of our minds, hearts, souls and actions, does not shrink back. He calls us friends.
 
A brother is born for adversity. Adversity is trouble so intense that it causes a man to cry out day and night. Adversity, is when it seems every difficulty known to man assaults one wave after another crashing wave with the relentless indifference of the ocean. Adversity can be troubles that a man’s own sins have caused him. It can be the result of God’s providence which is used to extract sin, serving to correct the iniquitous heart while redirecting the soul from death to life. Adversity can be the result of the world crushing against you because you are in Christ.
 
A true brother will not abandon you. He will know you, your sins and all, faithfully calling out the sin and like an immoveable rock tell you he is not going anywhere. He will face this crisis with you. I have seen such loyal friendship, a bond of brotherhood forged on the anvil of great sorrows which hammer blows of troubles still rain down, which arise in prison and in treatment centres because those who have sinned greatly know what it is to love greatly and be loved.
Not too long ago I man who regularly participates in Bible study at one of the prisons testified. “Confession is what I dreaded. The lack of it drove me mental. When I confessed my sins, over days and many hours, the relief was tremendous. It wasn’t what I expected. My church rejected me.” He went on to testify that it is while he is in prison he met others, who having been appropriately punished for their crimes, sought out fellow believers. Such believers ignoring the hierarchy of sin and the cycle of violence in the prison system, trust in the God of the word with such tenacity they are prepared to ignore the threats of the system to stay true to God and to one another.
 
Now listen to the words of Jude, the opening of his brief letter: “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you” (Jude 1-2 ESV). Though he is the half brother of Jesus he can only acknowledge this in a humble, round-about way. He claims his relationship as a brother to James, the much-better-known early leader in the New Testament church. James and Jude are both the half-brothers of Jesus.
 
Consider Jesus, the brother born for adversity. James and Jude rejected the claims of Jesus during his lifetime (John 7:5). When Jesus preached and crowds followed Him, His mother and brothers thought He was crazy and wanted to quietly bring Him home until His zealotry died down (Mark 3:20-21). When Jesus was crucified, crushed for the sins of His half-brothers (as well as all those whom the Father would give to Jesus as trophies of His atoning work at the cross), they persisted in their unbelief of Jesus.
 
Dearest family of God, the Bible is so inexpressibly rich in the theology of God’s forgiveness. Depicting the nearness of Christ so clearly it is near impossible to believe God could be so loving, so good, so thorough going in His crushing of sin. It is too easy for believers, having had the depth and breadth and length and height of their wickedness forgiven, to then turn around and seek to deny others that lavish fountain of living water that is theirs in Christ. When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan women at the well, He told her that He is the living water, a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
 
Christ is that friend, He is that brother described in Proverbs 17. With every new revelation of our sinfulness, our gross need for healing, our every newly exposed need for purification, Jesus is for us living water welling up to eternal life. He is the spring that never runs dry. He is the healer that goes to the source of our impurity and makes the believer clean.
 
Ah, I think if we as believers understood this better, we’d be scandalous in our embrace of sinners. We’d be fierce in our protection of those whose sins have been exposed and now know in ways they’d never understood before, their devastating need for Jesus. They’d be like starved men rushing to the banquet table to gorge. Wanting to be fed. Wanting to be graced. Asking Jesus to take hold of every part of them, every aspect, every as yet unknown, unexposed sin, so that His grace, like mighty rivers, might cleanse them.
 
I need the words of Jude, his opening phrase, “to those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ. Jude knew his sinful rejection of his half-brother Jesus. He knew as only a taunting, tormenting sibling can, how to hurt Jesus and revile Him and call out that oldest brother as one born out of wedlock. Whenever Satan would tempt Jude to despair, whenever memory would make him feel like the ground should swallow him up for the ugliness of his earlier hatred against his own brother, Jude knew and proclaimed he was “kept for Jesus Christ”. It is the Spirit of God Who will hold a believer in the place of grace, until the cleansing work of Jesus Christ has completed its work, and a believer passes from this life into glory where death, sin, adversity and troubled memories of haunting sins are no more.
 
Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
2 from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,
3 for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me dwell in your tent forever!
    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
Today’s prayer is: Psalm 61:1-4 ESV
 
https://youtu.be/LULK2nZ6sCc?si=gjGIfElds3zhBL6j Before the Throne of God

 

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Feb. 18/25 -- Philippians 2:5-8 -- Humility the bearer of treasures

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 ESV
 
In his study guide on Philippians, Sinclair Ferguson quotes St. Augustine of Hippo (Nov. 13, 354 - Aug. 28, 430).
If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you
that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is
humility. Not that there are no other precepts to give, but if humility
does not precede all that we do, our efforts are fruitless.
Website A-Z Quote, Saint Augustine
 
When explaining what it is to have among yourselves the mind of Christ, Paul pointed to humility. Not love first. Humility like the shocking humility of Jesus, Who though He was fully God, took on human flesh. He became incarnate. He become obedient to the point of death—never railing against God for His hard luck, nor complaining because of His circumstances.
Earlier Paul commanded the Philippians to be of the same mind (v. 2) and then of one mind (v. 2) and now to have this mind (v. 5), the mind of Christ, among yourselves. I can almost hear you protest (as does my own heart) to cultivate the mind of Christ intentionally and faithfully, daily and in all circumstances, it is too much. Too hard to do. I challenge you. Contemplate the magnanimous humility to Jesus. To do so magnifies to your thought-processes the glorious and humungous self-sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus submitted His earthly will and body, ife and motivations to the Father in heaven.
 
In II Corinthians Paul was writing about the motivations of the heart and what it looks like to be in our right mind. Under the power of the same Spirit Who was poured out on Jesus’s humanity without limit, by that Spirit Paul wrote “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded that this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died” (II Corinthians 5:14 ESV). Being in Christ means just as He died and three days later was raised to life, we have died to our fleshly lusts, put to death old alliances with the devil and the world, and now rise to newness of life that is full, humble and most joy-filled.
 
When we empty ourselves of pride, of selfish ambition, of the need to control and are instead controlled in all things by Him something amazing happens. The perfect obedience Jesus lived before His Father is the pathway to the greatest satisfaction our own life could ever bring. To humbly empty oneself of pride is to be fully yielded to the Spirit, and therefore fully open to being controlled in all things by the love of Christ. That means for us His death (and being united with Him continually putting to death things like old sinful patterns, wicked desires) and His resurrection power will guide us in every step.
 
Being so intimately connected with Jesus yields these benefits: Life has purpose. Life has power. Life has joy because it is bound together with the life of Christ. Jesus Himself through-out eternity has true joy, deep communion and fellowship with God the Father and God the Spirit. Through union with Jesus, in our humanity, we begin to experience the deepest, richest, fullest, most satisfying life possible which by the Spirit’s presence in us begins now and will stretch out in ever greater fullness for all eternity. Jesus ushers us into that sweet fellowship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Union with God, while living in the real world with all its struggles and pains, allows the believer to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. Why? For this very reason that the believer who takes on the mind of Jesus, humbling himself fully will be fully exalted in Christ, receiving the all the treasured blessings of that being united with Jesus.
 
Father in heaven I believe, help me overcome my unbelief. Spirit of God, I long for the treasured blessings that come from being united with Jesus, but I confess I still grab hold of so many earthly things. I figure if You don’t work out, those things, empty, earthly promises, will be my safety net. I pray, Holy Spirit, finger by finger, unclench my fist from selfish ambition and grasping pride so that I may, in true humility, take hold of Jesus and have His mind in me. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/gE5fOXSymBc?si=Plfy_iyQBjBzrfOr May the Mind of Christ My Savior
 

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Feb. 17/25 -- Philippians 2:4 -- The Interests of Others

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4 ESV
 
Funny, isn’t it, how the little things can signal the big sins in someone’s heart?! I realize I am not a patient person. I recently found this out all over again at a big box shopping store. It is always busy. I am armed with my list. Prepared with a pen to cross off each item. I quick-march through the store on the most efficient route possible. Inevitably there are two people, their oversized shopping carts side by each, oblivious to the fact they are blocking the entire aisle. Chatting away as if this were a garden party. I can go from focused on my task to incredibly irritated, to wanting to ram their carts for their ignorance, in under 3 seconds. (Is it honourable that I didn’t slam into their carts or mutter, just loud enough for them to hear, about their ignorance? No, I didn’t think so. Heavy sigh.) My actions, they demonstrated I was ignoring the interests of others. It is a sort of funny illustration, but an embarrassing example of the condition of my heart. Do I care about others only when it is convenient for me? Please, God, help me to be far more compassionate, no matter my own circumstances.
 
How can I look out for the interests of others? I don’t want to. My old nature rebels against this. Paul has already spelled it out, how to look out for the interests of others. He described the motivation that overcomes my old sinful impulses. Look at the four attributes to be employed at every moment of life where the need to look out for the interests of others interferes with one’s own agenda or roiling emotions (this is from verse 1 of this chapter).

• As one who has already been encouraged in Christ, I am at that moment of rising frustration to exercise that same encouragement and kindness to others.

• As one who has been comforted by the love of the Father, and recalling His extravagant lovingkindness extended to a sinner like me, I am to exercise that same love to others.

• As one who lives in close communion with the Holy Spirit, I can exercise the fruit of the Spirit. The moment old exasperations flair up, the self-centred huffiness of pride, the Spirit prompts me to exercise the fruit by which believers can live in community with one another and show the world in general, the reconstructed nature that abides in him.

• Exercising the fruit of the Spirit will expose others around you to the previously poured out into your heart the affection and sympathy of Christ.

 
Father in heaven, thank You for the gift of Jesus, Who did not look out for His own interests, but in humility and love perfectly walked in obedience to Your plan of salvation. In so doing Jesus looked after the interests of those whom You, dear Father, appointed for life. Thank You Holy God, for the Spirit Who lives in every believer, enabling us to conquer our old nature and every ever-present sinful impulse and as the followers of Jesus look to the interests of others. It is for Jesus and based on His accomplished work, we dare to pray this. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/p932vD3El_I?si=pJJJGjbJR8hPA_F1 I Am Not My Own
 

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Feb. 16/25 -- Proverbs 16:2 -- Purity of motives and God's weigh scale

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the spirit.
Proverbs 16:2 ESV
 
This proverb is proved true every time you approach a man and tell him his faults. He will prevaricate. He will evade. He will lie. He will make up excuses to cover his own offense. He considers his own ways as pure, or justifiable. It is possible he has not even considered his actions because they flow out of habit that has become false truth.
 
In Matthew 6:22 Jesus said the eye is the lamp of the body. If you look at yourself and don’t see the underlying motives of evil, or impurity, or self-justification, then your whole body is dark. The eye either lets in the light of God’s truth, or the pupil dilates, and darkness is all around. Now you understand why many churches include confession in the worship service. It is not natural for a man to see his own sin. Interesting, isn’t it, how believers can be so blind to their own sins. Ask a family member, or close friend, he’ll know the sin that man doesn’t see.
 
The LORD, that is the covenant-making, promise-keeping, self-designation of our God, He is God. In Him is life, truth, purity, and love. He full-well knows the sins and motives to sin which afflict every human heart and mind. He sees and knows the sins you have not even yet seen in yourself. He knows the sins you will commit.
 
He is the LORD. He has made the way open for sinners to turn to Him. The Spirit breaks down a man’s stubborn resistance to the truth of the evil which lurks in the heart. The work of Jesus, at the cross, is a great exchange. Read on, “he [Jesus, the suffering servant] was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace” (Isaiah 53:5 ESV). He was punished for your sins, and for mine. Sins that are known to you and those unknown to you. He was crushed for the iniquities of the heart. Iniquities point to the fact that your heart and your motives are out of alignment with God’s own purposes. God doesn’t turn a blind eye to your sins, no, He has crushed His own Son in your place and given to you the purity of motives, the purity of life and the excellence of actions which are the sum total of Jesus’s earthly walk. He, the LORD, decided to do so before you could ever have decided for Him. Had He not extended the love and mercy allowing you  to fall under His protection, you would have died, appropriately and fittingly, for all the evil that lurks in your heart.
 
Having acknowledged your sin, you begin to hate it. The Spirit stirs you to confess it. You deliberately turn away from it. Being accountable to a dear fellow Christian means every time the habit that leads you back to that temptation to sin, you and your fellow Christian pray, fight it, and look to Jesus. You begin a new pattern of living, that is, yielding obedience to the Word of God so that your words, motives and spirit please the LORD. You gather with God’s people, aware that you are not the freak the vomitously wicked people of the world think you are. You are in Christ, and you are united with other believers who long to be whole. By the steadfast love and faithfulness of Jesus, your iniquity and sin have been atoned for and now, with fellow believers, you walk in the fear of the LORD, turning away from evil (perhaps you’ll recognize this is a paraphrase of Proverbs 16:6).
 
Father in heaven, today I commit my life and my work to You, so that my plans will be established according to Your great mercy in Christ and the Spirit’s leading. Amen.
(Prayer adapted from Proverbs 16:3)
 
https://youtu.be/bVWOV8_PPCk?si=oWMFkgPA7ss8kfWj Whiter Than Snow
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

Feb/15/25 -- Psalm 112:4 -- The light of Jesus shining from you

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful and righteous.
Psalm 112:4 ESV
 
Jesus calls Himself the Light of the World (John 8:12). When darkness, that is, troubled times, descend, the upright person walks in the light of Jesus. The one who is upright is morally and ethically anchored to Jesus so that he doesn’t fall down in corruption at the whims and vagaries of these wicked times.
 
The upright man is so precisely because he has put all his confidence in Jesus. The result of this commitment shines out when troubled times hit. Look at the character traits of the man and the woman who is blessed by the LORD and fears the Lord.

• He is gracious. While the worldly people around him are cruel and nasty, he will exhibit grace that flows from Jesus. In grace he will loyally love, even when others hurt him. The fruit of the Spirit will flow from his lips and be evident in his actions, especially when a man’s circumstances squeeze him tightly.

• He is merciful. While governments are harsh, and times economically tough, the one who belongs to Jesus is merciful. He is generous to those in need. He offers a listening ear. When a sinner begins to hate his sin, the merciful man knowing himself to have been so richly blessed through Jesus, that from the oceans of mercy he himself has received in Jesus, he extends mercy. He does this with all gentleness so that the sinner can confess his sins and find forgiveness in Jesus.

• He is righteous. In the times when a governing prime minister’s actions have, two separate times, been found in to be in violation of the Canadian government’s own ethic rules, and there are no legal or Liberal-party-imposed consequences, a righteous man stands out. The one who fears God lives according to the laws of God no matter the moral turpitude of these days. God will bring the righteousness of Jesus, which has been granted to you, to shine like light and your justice as the noonday (Psalm 37:6).

 
Know for sure that while you live for Jesus in such times like these, you will suffer. As Paul wrote the Philippians, “for it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). Your hard times, your suffering, your enduring because of Jesus is noticed by God. The fact you shine as light in this sin-darkened world is precisely what draws others to Jesus, for they see His light in you.
 
Father in heaven, I confess I don’t want to suffer. But as I read the words of this Psalm, more than ease and comfort, I want to walk as a man enfolded in Your love. Help me to hate my sin. By Your Spirit lead me to the fullness of the blessedness that is mine in Jesus, Your Son and my precious Savior. Let the light of Jesus so shine out from me that others are drawn to Him. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/kYr1_kl1uS4?si=4qtddbq2gpRBxv_7 Sons of Korah - Psalm 37a
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

Feb. 14/25 -- Philippians 2:3 -- Called and equipped to serve

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3 ESV
 
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, this simple, direct statement requires hard work on our part and intentionality so it will be continually carried out in our lives. Selfish ambition is an expression that means electioneering. You immediately get a clear sense of what electioneering is, right? It describes someone running for office who tramples on his opponents and is also prepared to trample on the truth in order to gain his desired office. Selfish ambition is translated as rivalry in Philippians 1:15, where it is used as a word to describe how those opposed to Paul are preaching the gospel. Selfish ambition is vanity. How does the one who is intimately connected to Jesus act?
 
In humility. It is something so foreign to Paul’s readers (and us), that he is going to spend a significant number of verses demonstrating what humility is as He describes the actions of Jesus. Isaiah 66:2 teaches us that God, the Holy One, chooses to look upon the one who is humble. For that godly one has clothed himself in the grace God Himself has provided through Jesus.
 
It is counting others more significant than yourselves. What about me? What about my needs and desires? Those questions arise from the rebellious heart that huffs and sighs as these words are read. Go back to verses 1 and 2 of this passage. You can act this in humility and count others as more significant than yourselves when you are encouraged in Christ. You have the resources to count others more significant than yourself when you know yourself to be loved in Christ Jesus. Read the word, you are drenched in never-ending, upwelling fountains of the love of Jesus flowing within you unto eternal life. Those who participate in the Spirit know that they have everything necessary for life and godliness through the gift of divine grace. The Spirit anchors their heart on Jesus and lifts their eyes so they’re fixed on Him as in dedicated service they pour out their lives in service to others. Those who have the affections of the Father and experience His mercy poured out on them by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ are so fully equipped with grace and blessedness in their union with Jesus they know it has "granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29).
 
Great Father of mercy and love I confess how my link to You is like intermittent Wi-Fi, when fully connected, I am prepared to serve. When the connection is weak, I freeze. When disconnected from You by my prayerlessness and indifference to Your word, nothing seems to work. By Your Spirit reestablish my high-speed connection to Jesus and His continuous flow of encouragement. Let the height and depths of Your love poured out on me in Christ so replenish me that I can, in humility and self-sacrifice, serve others. Thank You for Your Spirit through Whom I abide in Jesus Christ and therefore am productive, bearing good fruit. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/ffnOZN6wXLo?si=l7wXDJdjQSX_1HUg “Here is Love”
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

Feb. 13/25 -- Philippians 2:1-2 --Overstatement and humility

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Philippians 2:1-2 ESV
 
On Sunday, when reminded those gathered of the challenge to memorize Philippians, I also directly mentioned there will be people there who’d assume I am telling the others to memorize, but not him, or her specifically. That’s wrong. Anyone in range of this reading, I am strongly urging you to memorize.
 
Here are some benefits. Paul spells them out. He does so by an ingenious wordplay. Look at the parallelism in this passage as phrase is matched to phrase.

• Any encouragement in Christ is completed in joy by being of the same mind as Christ. This union with Jesus is expressed by the phrase “in Christ”. Being united with Him so transforms the believer that we desire to think His thoughts (“How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:17 ESV). Like a young child who deeply loves and admires his father, he wants to walk like him, talk like him and do what he does. Linked to Jesus we long to do as He does,

• Any comfort from love is completed in joy by having the same love as Christ. Paul has modeled this love (take a moment and look back at Philippians 1:8, where Paul yearns for this people with the affection/love of Christ). Love is not something we conjure up from within. Love is not a fleeting emotion. Love is result of being so directly connected with Jesus Himself that His love wells up within us, enabling us to love others.

• Any participation in the Spirit is completed in joy by being in full accord. As Paul had previously expressed it, he has great confidence that this imprisonment and the consequences of it will turn out for his deliverance with the help of the Spirit. When believers participate in the Spirit, we yield ourselves to the Spirit’s working. We see the union that is already ours, the gift of being brought together is now the work of believers of maintaining the unity of the Spirit among us. This full accord is not that we are exactly the same, no way. As individuals, unique as we’ve been created to be, gifted in a variety of ways as we’ve been by the Spirit, each one’s participation in the Spirit blesses the whole body of Jesus.

• Any affection and sympathy is completed in joy by being of one mind. Affection is the word “bowels”; like when you use the expression, I feel it in my guts. Such a deep emotion that your body vibrates with it. Sympathy is mercy, or compassion and pity. Paul expressed such sentiments when he called out the those who preached Jesus from false motives (Philippians 1:15-18). Later Paul will urge Syntyche and Euodia to agree in the Lord—and though this passage is not expressly referred to, you’ll realize it can only happen for them based on the affection and sympathy which is theirs in Christ. To be of one mind is not to have one admit they’re wrong and the other humbly claim victory. No. Sinners, deeply aware of their great sinfulness, yield in love to Jesus and have His mind and attitude of self-sacrifice among themselves.

 
That four-fold repetition of “any” is exaggerated speech to make a point. Whatsoever small point of encouragement in Christ you might have in you, let its sufficiency propel you forward in obedience to Him. You’d be inclined to answer back as you read Paul’s letter, of course there’s love and comfort from love. Yes, the Holy Spirit’s presence is more than a small grain-of-sand-like tiny “any”, which is implied in Paul’s hyperbolic expression. The Spirit is at work in us and by the Spirit we are cooperating and working together. By his inflated way of speaking, Paul is also poking at the pride which lingers within his readers. If the love of Christ, the participation of the Spirit and the affection and sympathy are at work in you, don’t you think those same divine forces are at work among the others in your congregation, in your circle of friends, among even those you are currently opposed to but who are also named as brothers and sisters in Christ?
 
Memorization of this passage pushes its truth past your defenses. The strong barriers your ego wilfully erected to confirm to yourself you right when are fighting against fellow Christians. This passage will be used by the Spirit to tear down that wall of pride. The memorization of this passage plants the word deep into your soul, against the unexpected day when a fellow Christian pushes hard against you, and you must draw deeply on the encouragement that is yours in Christ so that you don’t make hurtful, damaging, and hasty verbal slashes upon them. Memorization of this passage aligns you with Jesus, by Whom and in Whom you are brought to complete joy.
 
Spirit of the Living God, I am asking that you give to me the mind of Jesus, day by day, so by Your power I live for Him and I will control all I do and say. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/PNww8F6G9U8?si=f34E2tKLiNZ4cKOo Make My Life a Prayer to You
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 11, 2025 -- Philippians 1:29-30 -- Gifted by God to Suffer

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit’s power: Sh’ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Philippians 1:29-30 ESV
 
If you are memorizing along with me, then you might find your early verses are harder to recall as you press on to learn these latter verses. Repetition is the key. Those who challenged me to memorize make it a practice, once a week, to recite longer sections of Scripture which had most recently been memorized (so, in this case, you’d be reviewing Philippians 1:1-26). While new material is memorized it is recited many times a day (something you’d be familiar with as you are memorizing Philippians 1:27-30.) Once you have memorized all four chapters of Philippians, then once a month, recite it to keep it fresh and active in memory. That is a wonderful activity for the Sunday, so that you disengage from worldly pursuits on Sunday and dig deeper into your walk with God through your memory work.
 
The truth of this passage will be striking for many people. The word granted means that God has freely gifted or has so blessed His people. First of all that they should believe in Him because of Jesus is the Father’s gift. Jesus is, as He promised in John 14:6, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the only way to the Father. In Him is life. No one else and nothing else in the universe can enable one who is dead in sin and unbelief to rise from those ashes and be made to live and be adopted as sons and daughters of God the Father. It has been granted that those who by the Holy Spirit are able to believe in Jesus will also distinguish that He alone is the embodiment of truth, and He reveals truth.
 
The Father has also granted, freely gifted and blessed His people, so that they can suffer for the sake of Jesus. There are three areas of conflict and in each of these believers will suffer. Believers fight their own fleshly lusts and urges. Now their hearts are dedicated to God, but their bodies and patterns of lust and sinful desires constantly draw them back to sin. Suffering involves going against your own sinful urges to stay true to Jesus. Suffering also means fighting against the patterns and pressures of the world. The Father has granted you the gift of the Holy Spirit so that you are not fighting in your own strength but battling against the hostile world through the powerful presence of the Spirit. The Word of God is a guide directing you in what is right and warning you away from what wrong. The Word of God wielded by the Holy Spirit will give you the ability to discern between what seems good, but is evil, from what is difficult and right to do. The Father has granted to you should suffer and fight against the ruler of the air, the devil. You used to walk in sinful ways. You willingly yielded your flesh to evil. That has changed. You know the day of Christ is nearing (Philippians 1:10) so you fight for excellent and purity with all the greater intensity. That is suffering.
 
Now as for the sake of Christ you have been granted to suffer, you have before you the glorious example of one who suffers as he fights the world, his own flesh and is engaged in spiritual battle. Paul’s example to the Philippians must have been so encouraging. Imprisoned for the sake of the gospel and his faith in Jesus, he still encouraged the Philippians and blessed them. Who has the Father put into your life, who fights the good fight of faith, enduring suffering so that in him, or in her, you see the strength of the Holy Spirit and the glorious blessing of God the Father? I wonder, who might be younger in the faith and looking to you as an example of one granted the strength necessary to endure suffering and receiving the glorious blessing of the Father so that you stand firm for Jesus even as you suffer?
 
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our being, You have created us for Yourself, so that we can find true rest only in You; grant to us purity of heart and strength of purpose, so that no selfish passion may hinder us from knowing Your will, and no weakness from doing it, that in Your light we may see light clearly, and in Your service find perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
(Adapted “For the Life in Christ” Divine Service Book for the Armed Forces, 1950, page 25)
 
https://youtu.be/ffmYLSEXCQQ?si=MBHN8_0abiAYGEJ9 I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow
 

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February 9, 2025 -- Philippians 1:27-28 -- Power and the Gospel

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to you or am absent I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God.
Philippians 1:27-28 ESV
 
Voice of the Martyrs website lists over 6 dozen countries that are openly hostile to the Good News of Jesus Christ. In those countries people who convert from the national religion of the land to Christianity can be deprived of freedom, property or killed. Family members may disown the one who converts. Bibles are unavailable. When Bibles are found they are confiscated. There are democracies, like India, where persecuted believers expect no help from local authorities.
 
Certainly, things are not as dire here in Canada. However, it is important to note that there is growing hostility to Christianity here in Canada. One obvious example of this happened recently.  A man who attended my Bible studies recently went up before the Parole Board of Canada. He was asked to give evidence of the changes he’d made in his life. Among other things he mentioned is how he attended Bible studies at the institutional chapel. He was scornfully informed that “your kind” (criminals) hide out there. The gospel was utterly discredited by those who hold decision-making power to grant or deny parole. It is a sad commentary how some of those who appointed by our government, who are supposed to encourage men and women making positive changes in their life, discredit the Christian faith. There was no apology. No recognition of how violent their words were when wielded against one who is dependent on them. It is sad that this is not an isolated case.
 
The point is Jesus told His followers they will suffer because of their faith in Him. Obedience to Jesus is the obvious evidence that someone is a Christian. Willingness to suffer for Jesus is a warning sign to non-believers, to parole board members, to hostile governments, to anyone in power that in their opposition proves their destruction is sure. God is not mocked. He will avenge His people who suffered because of their partnership in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The steadfast faith which holds believers steady even while they suffer is a clear sign that God is in charge. No government can defeat Him. No regime can stamp out the Name of Jesus. No persecution will destroy the church.
 
One of the Church Fathers, Tertullian (145 - 220 A.D.), wrote “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church”. What he stated is very much in line with Paul’s words here in Philippians. The more a despot or a tyrannical authority tries to wipe out believers, the more the believers will spread and flourish.
 
Father in heaven let my manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ Jesus, my Savior and King. Unite believers by the power of the Your Spirit so that we will, together, stand side by side for the faith of the gospel. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/cY6k2QhdCn0?si=hqLlh1J0RhrY4swW How Firm a Foundation
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 8, 2025 -- Isaiah 42:5-8 -- The Great Glory of God and the rebellious desire of a person's heart

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Thus says God, the LORD,
   who created the heaven and stretched them out,
   who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
   who gives breath to the people on it
   and spirit to those who walk in it:
 “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
     I will take you by the hand and keep you;
     I will give you as a covenant for the people,
     a light for the nations,
    to open eyes that are blind,
    to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
Isaiah 42:5-8 ESV
 
The Westminster Shorter Catechism opens with this question and answer:
     1. What is the chief end of man?
         Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
You can see how this question and answer are drawn directly from the Scriptures. God has called His people from the nations. God has drawn people to Himself from the idolatry and perversions, wickedness and darkness to which they had once been devoted. The temptation Christians always face is to go back to old patterns and sinful habits. Life used to consist in the worship of things, or animals, or stars, or mighty men, or self, or money. When the LORD takes His people by the hand He leads them in righteousness, He leads them away from all that and gives them a new identity. They belong to Him. They are made to praise Him. Their new life and new patterns of behavior are to be a light to the nations who are walking in deep darkness.
 
Isn’t that egotistical of God? To demand that His people worship Him? John Piper has, for more than four decades, taught using the expression “Christian Hedonism.” Here is how he defines it:
Christian Hedonism is the conviction that God’s ultimate goal in the
world (his glory) and our deepest desire (to be happy) are one and
the same, because God is most glorified in us when we are most
satisfied in him. Not only is God the supreme source of satisfaction
for the human soul, but God himself is glorified by our being
satisfied in him. Therefore, our pursuit of joy in him is essential.
https://www.desiringgod.org/topics/christian-hedonism
 
Now, dearly loved brothers and sisters, let’s look at some of the things that are being planned for tomorrow. It is the Superbowl. Many call it “Superbowl Sunday”. It is repugnant because God does not share His glory with any other. It is sad to read of churches that convert their sanctuaries (which are designed for the worship of God) so that the big screens are used watch the game. That is clear violation of the purpose for which the church building. That amounts to scorning God.
 
Why is it a violation?

1. God is to be worshiped in His sanctuary. No one and nothing is to share His space. A church building is dedicated to the worship of God—football (already an idol in this culture) so distracts people from their real purpose that to put it front and centre in a church is to command God to share His glory.

2. The practice of morning and evening worship services models the Old Testament practice of morning and evening sacrifices (Exodus 29:38 et al). Many churches have abandoned such practices because people are too self-absorbed to go to church. Filling a church time slot with something that for this culture is already an idol takes people even farther from their commitment to God. Congregations that do this are training their people in patterns that lead away from God, not toward Him.

3. In the best traditions of Christian worship, believers met in the morning to learn about the Word of God and in the afternoon or evening to learn to defend the faith through catechetical preaching. Catechetical preaching instructs the worshipers on the basics of the faith so that they can in turn raise them in the knowledge of God. It is teaching that helps believers defend their faith against all skeptics and critics. Catechetical preaching is foundational to  help Christians evangelize the lost.

4. To host a Superbowl party in the church building is to “bait and switch”. You have a big event that is out of character, which appeals to the basest instincts of the non-believer. If that non-believer should return, he will be taught that God is to be honoured above all things (which is precisely what did not happen the week before). The message is confusion and compromise.

 
God of all glory teach me to love You first, best, and above all other things. By Your Holy Spirit lead me to Jesus, through Whom I am reconciled to You. Triune God, the Scriptures promise ‘in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore’ led me in such paths of gladness. Amen.
(quotation is from Psalm 16:11b)
 
https://youtu.be/R8mLTdQQXg4?si=3pThs3p6SjdE3WZ2 Psalm 16 Shane and Shane
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 7, 2025 -- Philippians 1:27 -- Living a life worthy of the gospel

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…
Philippians 1:27 ESV
 
Yesterday I informed my dear friend that in the devotion’s discussion about accountability I was referring to him. His reply was right in line with the message of today’s passage. He noted, “There have been many many times that the mere thought of you holding me accountable and praying for me has stopped me from sinning.” That is exactly what happens when brothers and sisters are in a good accountability relationship. They lead one another to Christ. They strive individually and together, to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. The life of one Christian can either discourage or inspire another Christian.
 
Whenever I keep my commitment to exercise, I use an app that records it. This connects me to friends near and far who use the same app. On the days I exercise, friends can see that I have done so, and many will comment. Their comments are so encouraging. One friend will note if it has been a while since I’ve exercised. He will send a quick message encouraging me to get out there once again. He is helping me to let my life conform to the commitment I’ve made.
 
As Christians we have a strong duty to exercise our faith. It is hard work. We are, in our old sinful nature, lazy. We are excuse factories. We are filled with good intentions that lead to half-completed projects. The Spirit of God works in us so that our manner of life is worthy of the Gospel. Look at the various ways the Spirit works:

• The Spirit of God gives Christian leaders in our life who preach the Word, instructing us how to live for Jesus.

• The Spirit of God gives to Christians brothers who can openly inquire as to how you are living and ask if you are staying true to your commitments.

• The Spirit of God leads believers to pray together, confessing sins, and finding together the real joy of knowing that our sins are forgiveness.

• The Spirit of God gives people the gift of deep and true community, so that neglecting to gather with God’s people leads to emptiness, but gathering with His people for worship is a rich blessing.

 
Father in heaven thank You for the grace and peace You give to Your people through the accomplished work of Jesus Christ. Thank You for the Holy Spirit Who seals into us Your blessings. Thank You for the Spirit Who us spreads among us these blessings so that believers live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/rpYM6Et_hVY?si=TP8XjlJQWp6bt-Ss He Leadeth Me
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 6, 2025 -- Philippians 1:25-26 -- Brothers and sisters in Jesus who lead us to glory in Christ Jesus

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
Philippians 1:25-26 ESV
 
Reflecting on the words of this text, Sinclair Ferguson writes:
If the Lord continues to keep us in this life, he means our lives to encourage
others to grow as Christians and to bring joy to them. That is part of the
answer to the question, What is my life really for? It helps us to see what is
really important in God’s perspective. This is a good question to ask
ourselves: Does my life encourage others to grow and to rejoice?
Ferguson, Let’s Study Philippians, page 32
 
No wonder then, that the Philippians will glory in Christ Jesus when Paul visits them again. They are encouraged in their faith by Paul. They are sharpened in their walk with Jesus. They see the vitality and power of a life connected with Jesus whenever they hear from or meet with Paul.
 
When my accountability partner calls me or texts me, his words always give me reason to glory in Christ Jesus.

• Sometimes he confesses his sin. Then we glory in the grace given to us in Christ, His rich forgiveness.

• Sometimes he sends a text, sharing with me a portion of Scripture that as inspired him and that causes us both to glory in Christ Jesus—that the Spirit of Jesus can take the word of God and make it living and fresh.

• Sometimes he calls and we pray. What a blessing it is to pray openly, concretely and expectantly, with a dear brother in the Lord.

• Sometimes I glory in Christ Jesus because there is a brother out there who faithfully and regularly prays for me, knowing my strengths and my weaknesses, my joys and my sorrows.

 
Father in heaven thank You for appointing brothers and sisters in Christ who give us ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit Who unites us and sanctifies us. Father, guide us by Your Holy Spirit so that we will be more and more like Jesus. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/-44GH3NhdIA?si=7424XXGSsKWqplxI I Asked the Lord
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 5, 2025 -- Ecclesiastes 9:10 -- Laziness versus self motivation

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 ESV
 
Many of you know that I fill in a Daily Character Inspection chart. There are twenty-four-character traits listed. Each one has an appropriate Bible verse as the source for both understanding the character trait and to help direct one in his introspection. Why mention it? For me, memorization is linked with self-motivation (the eighth of these twenty-four).
 
I have been stumbling in my goal of memorization. I have taken a day off, for legitimate reasons, but that one day has become three. Self-motivation is completing the tasks for you are responsible and doing so without having to be prompted by others. It is what is described in Ecclesiastes, what your hand finds to do, doing it all your might. While you live (because Sheol can mean death or the grave) you stick to your commitments and carry them out. Whenever self-motivation is lacking, one tends to laziness and being unproductive. Laziness breeds more inactivity and excuses.
 
I have often encouraged those who are memorizing to find an accountability partner. When you are strong in your commitments you can encourage your brother who is struggling. When you are struggling, your brother can encourage you so that together you keep your commitments to the Lord and to one another.
 
Why is memorization so important?

• Jesus was tempted by the devil and He quoted Scripture to turn away the temptation.

• Scripture hidden within the heart leads the believer in righteousness.

• Memorization is a command with a promised blessing of fruitfulness (Psalm 1).

• To love God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength requires that you know God and memorization of His Word is part of the process.

 
Prayer
 
I have been greatly distressed of soul
because I did not suitable come to the fountain
   that purges away all sin;
I have labored too much for spiritual life,
   peace of conscience, progressive holiness,
   in my own strength.
I beg thee, show me the arm of all might;
Give me to believe
   that thou canst do for me more than
   I ask or think,
   and that, though I backslide,
   thy love will never let me go,
   but will draw me back to thee
   with everlasting cords;
that thou dost provide grace in the wilderness,
and canst bring me out,
leaning on the arms of my Beloved…
Part of the prayer: “Backsliding” Valley of Vision, page 157
 
https://youtu.be/90b2nXE_b3o?si=HuTXq69ENmCRmzK3 “O The Blood”
 
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

Feb. 4 2025, Philippians 1:12-14 -- Changed by Jesus and by Him changing others

I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Philippians 1:12-14 ESV

This is a bit of a review for us today. I am leading a house church, called: Conviction Chapel. We are systematically learning from the Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The verses today were the focus of this past Sunday’s sermon. The application is this passage, are these points:

1.     Trust in God. We often don’t know why our circumstances have brought us to this place or that, but God does. He uses all you are going through for the spread of the gospel.

2.     Memorize. Take a verse a day, or a few verses a week and commit them to memory. Then wherever you find yourself, the Word of God is with you. To comfort you. Guide. Instruct. And it is available for you to teach others.

3.     Be accountable to others. Paul wrote the Philippians, telling them how he is doing, what he is doing. He was even more closely accountable to Timothy and Epaphroditus who were with him. They saw his courageous faith close-up.

4.     Trust that the gospel, the good news about Jesus, is as powerful today as it was then in Paul’s day. People are changed by hearing of Jesus.

5.     Trust that the work of Jesus continues to impact you as well. He is, by His Spirit, changing you for His holy purposes, for the glory of the Father.

Thank You, God, that You began a good work in us and that You will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Amen. (Prayer is basically Phil. 1:6)

https://youtu.be/ILpLIcuWwPA?si=J0Kc1BUuL8V6-PBl Your Grace Still Amazes Me

February 1, 2025 -- Philippians 1:22-25 -- Ambassadors of the King

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit’s power: Sh’ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

If I am to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which shall I choose, I can not tell. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith...    Philippians 1:22-25 ESV
 
What glorious confidence Paul has in Jesus. Life, even life as a man who is wrongly incarcerated but serving this time so that Jesus will be made known to people who otherwise couldn’t be reached, is fruitful labor for him. He is writing to people who need his counsel, prayers, and encouragement. So, he knows for now God will keep him alive.
 
What is striking is the repetition of the theme found one verse before, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (verse 21). In fact, the prospect of death is not fearful or loathsome to him because he knows Jesus is present while he lives and when he dies faith will become seeing. He will be in the blessed presence of Jesus. What joy fills Paul at contemplating this glorious truth.
 
My question for you today is this: do you see your life as filled with opportunities for serving Jesus at every moment, day and night? Do you live with the great awareness He is near, in fact, it is His Spirit Who fills you? Perhaps the Christian’s contemplation of his own death is so fearsome among believers because there is not, right now, a living knowledge of Jesus?
 
Perhaps, my dear fellow Christian, you are drifting aimlessly because there is no clear sense of the person, or people God, is calling on you to minister to. No sense that there are people who now, in this life, long for Jesus, even though they have not yet met Him, He has planted this desire in them. He has appointed you as His ambassador. Show them Jesus. An ambassador loves his country, delights in the king of the land. At the command of the king, he goes to others as the representative of the crown, proclaiming the wonders of citizenship in that Promised Land. He defends that beautiful land from the scoffing ignorance of those not yet familiar with it. He speaks, glowingly, of the king and his beauty. He serves willingly as an ambassador, but longs for the day when he will be recalled to that beautiful land so that he himself, having completed his abroad, can be with the king.
 
Father in heaven, by Your Spirit, show me Jesus as the King of Peace, splendid in beauty. At the mention of His Name stir within my soul, Spirit of Jesus, instilling in me a holy longing to know Him far better. Help me, as one who has a profound, lively connection with Him, to be an ambassador for Christ. Amen.
https://youtu.be/odKxftGhVRE?si=frbZ-LFr4apo6EOf The King in All His Beauty
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 31, 2025 -- Deuteronomy 6:4,5 -- Hear and Obey

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is One. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ESV
 
The very first word “hear” in today’s passage is a translation of the Hebrew word “shema” (or as I have it sh’ma). That word means hear and it carries with it the implication hear and obey or hear these words and put them into practice in your life.
 
The Sh’ma (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) is the prayer a devout Jewish man or woman will recite each day. It is the reminder that the LORD, the Covenant-Keeping God is ultimate in glory. He is to be ultimate in your life and in all your devotion. Serving Him in all aspects of your life is the single most important reason you have for being alive.
 
Israel. In the Old Testament Israel, the nations, was the 12 tribes who were called to be His people. At His pleasure, God added to that nation other people, those He’d chosen in His love, to be part of His family. From the time of Jesus, until now, and stretching to the return of Jesus, Israel consists of the people who belong to God through Jesus Christ. Those who are “grafted into Him” as John 15 puts it, are grafted into the Vine called “True Israel”.
 
Now Israel is a reference to the people of God who belong to Him through the accomplished work of Jesus Christ and are kept faithful to Him through the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit living in them. We are united to the Old Testament people of God through the sacrifice. In the Old Testament the sacrifices of bulls and lambs and doves pointed to the final sacrifice Jesus. Israelites who believed in Him looked to Him through faith as they believed in the promises which were given through the system of sacrifices. We are the true Israelites, who believe in Jesus Christ, the one sacrifice of God. We believe in One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We hear His word and obey it. We serve Him with all our heart, soul, and might/strength.
 
Israel. The word means “he who strives with God”. It is wrestling with God to subdue ourselves to Him. It is striving with God in prayer to will and to work for His good pleasure. Striving with God means we are in a constant battle between our old nature, our old desires and the new life that is ours through Jesus Christ. Israel. It is a reminder that believers to do not fight for the faith by their own strength. The Holy Spirit fills each believer. Each believer is united to others by the Holy Spirit, so that covered by the sacrificial blood of Jesus, we are taken from our old life of sin and death and are called beloved sons and daughters of God.
 
Faithful Father, by Your Spirit, help us to live for Jesus, by Whose sacrifice we have access to You as beloved sons and daughters. O LORD our God, enable us to put to death all that is untrue, all that sin which is still lingering within us, so that with greater love and deeper devotion we will love You with all our heart, soul, and strength. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/tQUTvMtUhw4?si=_M4X7_u4XyLo0pkg The Doxology
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 30, 2025 -- Philippians 1:21 -- When You Really Begin to Live?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21 ESV
 
Early on in my ministry I served as a volunteer chaplain. In that role I was called out to the hospital. A man, newly retired, had a widow-maker heart attack and died. His bewildered family (and friends who mere days before were co-workers) gathering at the hospital were shocked, angry and vocal. His widow cried out something to the effect of, but he’s just retired. He was finally, really going to live. We had plans.
 
While Paul is in prison, he is writing, “for to me to live is Christ”. He did not expect that his useful life would begin after his incarceration ended. He wasn’t making plans to do this and that after he got out of jail. While he lived, he knew his life meant fruitful labor (verse 21). No matter where God placed him, he was prepared to serve God. Paul was fully confident that God had His purposes for placing him in whatever circumstances he’d found himself.
 
Paul’s joy and confidence had as their strong foundation Jesus Christ and His salvific work. Life such as it is, filled with hardships and joys, freedom and bondage to various sins, riches and poverty, consequences to our sin and Spirit-guided repentance, all is meaningful and necessary because Jesus is at the centre of our lives. As our King He directs the Holy Spirit to use whatever means are necessary so that believers will be sanctified, made holy as dearly loved sons and daughters of God.
 
To die is gain. When the believer dies, he will see Jesus Christ. His faith becomes sight. Paul is instructing his readers, then and us now, that the greatest tragedy is not to lose one’s life, but to lose one’s life without knowing Jesus Christ. Death is, in fact, gain.
 

• Believers finish their battle against internal sins, the pressures of worldliness and the assaults of the Devil and gain the blessed, victorious rest of God that stretches through all eternity.

• Believers lose their sin-limited existence and for eternity gain the life for which God created people: to glorify Him and delight in Him forever.

• Believers lose their earthly life and gain life that never-ends. Filled with purpose, wonder, joy, and love. God is infinite. It is sure and true that eternity will be exciting because God is limitlessly perfect, good, loving.

 
Honestly, I hesitated a full day and a bit before even attempting to share a reflection on this text. It is so well-known and so deep. It is so comprehensive. I am so small. Narrow-minded in my thinking. I was afraid there is no way to do this text justice. The passage challenges me. Too often I think of my life as gain and death as loss. While God our gracious Father, by the words of His servant Paul, is turning all my expectations upside-down and showing me that Jesus is all my life, now and forever. There is nothing more of pleasure that this life can hold out to me other than Jesus and knowing Him. There can’t be anything more, because the Name of Jesus is above all Names. It is the Spirit of God Who can slow me down, and you as well, enough so that we don’t live as if true life, the good life, the retired life is just around the corner and that will be what makes this existence sweet. No, now, the Spirit shows us to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Faithful Father, the vast storehouse of riches You have for me in Christ is so hard to understand. By Your Spirit’s powerful presence in my life, help me to meditate on, to probe the depths of, and to mine the meaning of living for Jesus now with the expectation that my death really will be inestimable gain. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/N-Y4BmnpEQo?si=BFqjpnQrn-fOCQ6O His Robes for Mine
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 28, 2025 -- Proverbs 28:8, 27 -- Hearing the cry of the poor

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit
gathers it for him who is generous to the poor.
 
Whoever gives to the poor will not want,
but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.
Proverbs 28:8, 27 ESV
 
It is the love of money that is the root of all evil whereby righteous men and women pierce themselves with sorrows because they profess God but love money. John Wesley wrote: ‘The last part of a man to be converted is his wallet.’ Look at today’s verses, taking special note of the love and compassion God our Father has for the poor. Why is this the Father’s attitude towards the poor?
 
You were poor, spiritually dead, morally bankrupt and all you had was invested in the Bank of the Kingdom of Darkness. No one has cause to boast in his riches. No one is a “self-made man”. Is there anything you have that has not been given to you by Christ our King?
 
God sent Jesus, Your rescue story so that in Christ you were made alive. All you have now is entrusted to you, a gift from God.
 
When believers in the Old Testament came to believe in the One True God, they needed help from the people of Israel. Think of Ruth who was as a widow was committed to caring for her mother-in-law and was lifted from poverty by a kinsman-redeemer. Think of the Gibeonites, that people who were put under the protection of Israel, they were slaves in Israel, woodcutters and watercarriers But their financial poverty was more than generously compensated by the fact that they were covered under the care of God through His people.
 
When at the Day of Pentecost believers from 15 nations and regions came to Jerusalem and by the power of the Spirit were saved and about 3,000 souls were saved, then locals supported the foreigners out of their own means.
 
Ask yourself this, aware of the fact I can’t take my money with me when I die, aware of the fact that all I have belongs to Jesus Christ, am I generous when hearing the cry of the poor, or am I tight-fisted? I encourage you to contemplate today’s verses and the quotation from Wesley while you ask the Spirit of God to lead you with regards to your finances.
 
Father in heaven thank You for the riches that are mine in Jesus Christ. Thank You for the splendour of eternity the riches of which are already tasted by the powerful presence of Your Spirit living in me. I confess there are so many worldly (and even Christian) financial planners and advisers who recommend this and that in view of retirement and saving for needs. I confess as their advice thunders in my ears I am tempted to hold my wallet tighter to myself. I pray, in view of Your Kingdom, guided by Your Spirit and instructed by Your Word, show me and embolden me to be faithful to You with all the resources You have given me so how I handle my money brings honour to Jesus Christ, Who has rescued me from the dominion of darkness. Jesus, Captain of Salvation, lead me in Your righteousness. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/cO725In6VT8?si=R5VrbbRvK5SzTxPp We Give Thee but Thine Own
 

Copyright © 2025 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.